Posts

Solving sleep: just a toe-dipping 2015-06-30T19:38:40.663Z
Meetup : Chicago Rationality Training Group - Meeting 1: "Why Rationality?" and Using the Inner Simulator 2015-03-27T15:04:19.730Z
Interesting (or semi-interesting) part time jobs? 2014-12-29T23:00:32.724Z
The buildup to Jaynes? 2014-12-28T09:38:35.320Z
Memory Improvement: Mnemonics, Tools, or Books on the Topic? 2014-11-21T18:59:57.447Z
Neo-reactionaries, why are you neo-reactionary? 2014-11-17T22:31:05.760Z
Can science come to understand consciousness? A problem of philosophical zombies (Yes, I know, P-zombies again.) 2014-11-17T17:06:24.798Z
How to build the skill and the habit of experimentation? 2014-11-15T16:08:51.212Z
The "best" mathematically-informed topics? 2014-11-14T03:39:51.960Z
Should we go all in on existential risk? - Considering Effective Altruism 2014-11-10T23:23:37.061Z
The value of doing one's own philanthropic research? 2014-11-10T19:15:00.013Z
Academic papers 2014-10-30T16:53:55.295Z
Podcasts? 2014-10-25T23:42:29.637Z
What math is essential to the art of rationality? 2014-10-15T02:44:54.054Z

Comments

Comment by Capla on Mutual Information, and Density in Thingspace · 2017-09-26T04:23:06.347Z · LW · GW

This is a brilliant essay. One of the best in the sequences, I think.

Comment by Capla on Open thread, Feb. 01 - Feb. 07, 2016 · 2016-02-01T16:16:54.106Z · LW · GW

If you are interested in AI risk or other existential risks and want to help, even if you don't know how, and you either...

1. Live in Chicago
2. Attend the University of Chicago
3. Are are intending to attend the University of Chicago in the next two years.

...please message me.

I'm looking for people to help with some projects.

Comment by Capla on Open thread, Jan. 25 - Jan. 31, 2016 · 2016-01-31T21:15:45.322Z · LW · GW

[I'll post on next week's open thread as well.]

If you are interested in AI risk or other existential risks and want to help, even if you don't know how, and you either...

  1. Live in Chicago
  2. Attend the University of Chicago
  3. Are are intending to attend the University of Chicago in the next two years.

...please message me.

I'm looking for people to help with some projects.

Comment by Capla on Cryonics: peace of mind vs. immortality · 2015-07-18T07:59:20.282Z · LW · GW

Also, I'm not sure why anyone would want alcor (or anyone) to offer such necklaces. Don't we want' people to sign up for cryonics?

Comment by Capla on Cryonics: peace of mind vs. immortality · 2015-07-18T06:30:53.314Z · LW · GW

That kind of misses the point. There are lots of neckslaces that have peace sign on them, but they're not at all a good signal of pacifism, or nuclear disarmament (what the peace sign originally stood for). Think of how many people where a ying yang because it looks cool instead of to convey an affinity, much less a dedication to, for Taoist ideals.

It is because the necklace is expensive and represents an actual (if small) step towards destroying the awful-thing, that it is good signalling.

Part of this is because the more expensive the thing and the more marginal the benefit, the more it shows dedication to the cause. This is basic commitment effects. But there's another thing. Signing up for cryonics doesn't just signal that you don't like death, it signals that you're prepared to do something about it. Complaining is common. Doing something isn't.

Comment by Capla on There is no such thing as strength: a parody · 2015-07-07T22:11:50.739Z · LW · GW

I'd think of the hulk's universal strength as something like the difference between species instead of between individuals. I don't know, but I imagine that a mountain gorilla is much stronger than me, at bench pressing, at deadlifting, at overheard pressing, at throwing, etc.

Comment by Capla on Solving sleep: just a toe-dipping · 2015-07-02T23:34:14.042Z · LW · GW

Hmm...Let me check that out.

Comment by Capla on Solving sleep: just a toe-dipping · 2015-07-02T23:33:26.459Z · LW · GW

There's the polypahsic society. They are more-or-less the representatives of consensus among polyphonic folks. (I think. Perhaps I'm misrepresenting them?)

Stampi is not very helpful for figuring out what polyphasic people are doing while they sleep. So far, I've yet to find a single paper that features a polysomnographic evaluation of someone doing uberman or everyman, much less one that does a basic evaluation of whether someone who has been polyphonic (long term) is exhibiting clinical symptoms of sleep deprivation. Both of those, but particularly the polysomnograph, would be very informative.

Comment by Capla on Solving sleep: just a toe-dipping · 2015-07-02T19:45:31.625Z · LW · GW

I agree with your skepticism. The polyphasic community claims that they are able to make drastic reduction in sleep time because they go straight into REMs when taking a nap. This conflicts with a lot of my understanding.

It is my suspicion that they are mistaken about that, and that actually, if a person has acclimated to polyphasic, he/she isn't going into REM at all and that this is where gains come from.

Comment by Capla on Solving sleep: just a toe-dipping · 2015-07-01T21:23:45.255Z · LW · GW

Can I get a little clarification? Are people up-voting because they like the content of this post or because they like the prospect of later posts on sleep?

I was unsure of whether to put this up, since I thought it didn't have much in the way of novel insight, just background knowledge.

Comment by Capla on Open Thread, Jun. 29 - Jul. 5, 2015 · 2015-06-30T23:47:31.761Z · LW · GW

Since jujutsu is very...uh...intimate.

Personal experience says you should just used to this. It is weird at first, but it isn't that bad.

Comment by Capla on Solving sleep: just a toe-dipping · 2015-06-30T23:21:42.882Z · LW · GW

I am curious to what extent the info in this post is common knowledge. Are these things familiar to people?

Comment by Capla on Solving sleep: just a toe-dipping · 2015-06-30T22:12:07.093Z · LW · GW

Better?

Comment by Capla on Lawrence Watt-Evans's Fiction · 2015-06-09T00:04:55.714Z · LW · GW

Ok. I just read another comic by the same author, Demon, about a (sociopathic) character who discovers that he can't die (in an interesting way). It's great! The protagonist does exactly the sort of experimentation I would do in his situation, and several charterers make plans that are authentically clever, and legitimately surprising.

Highly recommended.

Comment by Capla on Lawrence Watt-Evans's Fiction · 2015-06-08T21:03:53.131Z · LW · GW

That was fantastic!

Comment by Capla on Leaky Generalizations · 2015-06-01T21:05:45.187Z · LW · GW

Aren't most of the apples on earth precisely the ones we bread to be edible (and tasty)?

Comment by Capla on When does technological enhancement feel natural and acceptable? · 2015-05-09T20:30:23.264Z · LW · GW

I'm not sure what your point is?

Comment by Capla on Guidelines for Upvoting and Downvoting? · 2015-05-06T22:26:14.777Z · LW · GW

I generally don't care what level a post is at if I'm going to upvote it, but when I see something has a negative core that I think is unfair, I'll bump it up by one.

Comment by Capla on How to sign up for Alcor cryo · 2015-05-06T21:19:09.943Z · LW · GW

I'm a little disturbed by the thought of reconstructing my personality from others' impressions of my personality.

Comment by Capla on Stupid Questions May 2015 · 2015-05-06T21:12:45.408Z · LW · GW

which is what is the most any person, more specifically, I can do for FAI?

First thing you should do is talk to the people that are already involved in this. CFAR seems to be the gateway for man people (at least, it was for me).

Comment by Capla on Stupid Questions May 2015 · 2015-05-06T21:07:52.545Z · LW · GW

So maybe the first step would be to upload some humans and give them more processing power,

I would like this plan, but there are reasons to think that the path to WBE passes through nueromorphic AI which is exceptionally likely to be unfriendly, since the principle is basically to just copy parts of the human brain without understanding how the human brain works.

Comment by Capla on Stupid Questions May 2015 · 2015-05-06T21:03:19.402Z · LW · GW

Is your position written out somewhere where I can read it?

Comment by Capla on Competent Elites · 2015-04-16T22:32:51.060Z · LW · GW

The smarter you are, the more likely you are to think you're the exception, and neglect the outside view.

Comment by Capla on Mundane Magic · 2015-04-12T16:08:21.189Z · LW · GW

I didn't realize until you said it.

Comment by Capla on Bayesian Judo · 2015-04-12T14:36:03.177Z · LW · GW

Yep.

Comment by Capla on Bayesian Judo · 2015-04-11T20:38:49.180Z · LW · GW

Sure. But religion is supposed divinely inspired and thus completely correct on every point. If one piece of the bundle is disproven, the whole bundle takes a hit.

Comment by Capla on Even better cryonics – because who needs nanites anyway? · 2015-04-09T15:50:58.512Z · LW · GW

With which of those books should I start?

Comment by Capla on Open Thread, Apr. 06 - Apr. 12, 2015 · 2015-04-07T17:36:07.396Z · LW · GW

I'm leading a rationality training group. We're working through the most recent CFAR curriculum, but I also want to work from parts of the sequences.

Which posts in the sequences were particularly impactfull for you? Not just ones that you found interesting, but ideas that you actually implemented in your thinking about object-level stuff.

I'm particularly interested in posts that we could spin out into techniques to practice, like noticing confusion or leaving a line of retreat.

Comment by Capla on Distinct Configurations · 2015-04-06T17:50:27.449Z · LW · GW

And as the level of interaction with the rest of reality increases, P(D1) approaches 50%. Right?

and this is de-coherence? This is why the macro-world is seemingly classical? There are some many elements in the system that you never get anything that doesn't intact with something else and all the configurations are independent?

Comment by Capla on Configurations and Amplitude · 2015-04-04T15:17:06.497Z · LW · GW

Clarification: an amplitude is the value of a configuration?

so { a photon going from A to B = (-1 + 0i) } is a configuration and { (-1 + 0i) } is an amplitude?

Comment by Capla on Meetup : Chicago Rationality Training Group - Meeting 1: "Why Rationality?" and Using the Inner Simulator · 2015-03-29T04:00:35.514Z · LW · GW

I'll add two extra posts to the suggested readings, if you have time (but focus on the main four).

http://mindingourway.com/desire-is-the-direction-rationality-is-the-magnitude/

and

http://mindingourway.com/ephemeral-correspondance/

I might be pushing it, but it shouldn't take more than a half hour to read all six.

Comment by Capla on Rationality Quotes Thread March 2015 · 2015-03-24T01:29:23.750Z · LW · GW

I'm reminded of another Feynman anecdote: when he invented his own mathematical notion in middle school. It made more sense to him, but he soon realized that it was no good for communicating ideas to others.

Comment by Capla on Rationality Quotes Thread March 2015 · 2015-03-24T00:44:56.075Z · LW · GW

"The danger in trying to do good is that the mind comes to confuse the intent of goodness with the act of doing things well."

  • Ursula k. Le Guin, Tales from Earthsea
Comment by Capla on [link] If anyone wants to discuss Gödel, Escher, Bach, we have a read-through of it going in /r/rational. Join us! · 2015-03-23T15:05:55.142Z · LW · GW

How long is that preface?

Comment by Capla on [link] If anyone wants to discuss Gödel, Escher, Bach, we have a read-through of it going in /r/rational. Join us! · 2015-03-23T15:03:05.642Z · LW · GW

Is it worth buying a more recent edition for the preface?

Comment by Capla on Is love a good idea? · 2015-03-22T02:29:56.162Z · LW · GW

I chose to love regardless of how the other feels towards me.

Comment by Capla on Is love a good idea? · 2015-03-22T02:16:27.680Z · LW · GW

Hmm...I would very much like to know if my very stringent criteria for basic-possibility-of-a-relationship will change with time. I suppose I should evaluate my goals and why I have those criteria.

Comment by Capla on Open thread, Mar. 16 - Mar. 22, 2015 · 2015-03-21T23:38:01.584Z · LW · GW

upvote for noticing a (possibly) uncharitable reaction in yourself and taking steps to do better.

Comment by Capla on Open thread, Mar. 16 - Mar. 22, 2015 · 2015-03-21T23:20:07.762Z · LW · GW

No stupid questions thread?

What make a person sexual submissive, sexually dominant, or a switch? Do people ever change d/s orientation?

Comment by Capla on [link] If anyone wants to discuss Gödel, Escher, Bach, we have a read-through of it going in /r/rational. Join us! · 2015-03-21T23:13:42.235Z · LW · GW

I've been planing on staring this soon. Is it important to have a recent edition. How much has changed since the first publishing?

Comment by Capla on Innate Mathematical Ability · 2015-03-09T18:01:02.237Z · LW · GW

Similarly, I go the same answer, but only by process of elimination. I knew it didn't have dots, I knew it didn't have a diamond, I knew it didn't have an x, by just extrapolating from the "cut offs" in the problem. That left me with 2, but it felt...wrong. It didn't feel intuitively right. If I had to pick on without thinking about it, number 2's the last one I'd pick.

I only understand the pattern in a cohesive way from looking at the comments. Now it makes sense, instead of being deduced from bits of dis-unified information.

Do I know my IQ now?

Comment by Capla on Wisdom for Smart Teens - my talk at SPARC 2014 · 2015-02-22T02:48:33.887Z · LW · GW

Thanks.

Comment by Capla on Wisdom for Smart Teens - my talk at SPARC 2014 · 2015-02-21T05:26:43.385Z · LW · GW

Why is this on Vimeo instead of Youtube? I can adjust the play-speed on YT videos.

Comment by Capla on An alarming fact about the anti-aging community · 2015-02-21T05:07:06.918Z · LW · GW

Tell me where and how. If I can preserve cell samples for under $1000, I'll almost certainly do it. I think it would be relatively easy to convince my parents it's a good idea ("just in case"), and I can use the commitment effect from this minor precaution as a foothold to convince them to sign up for cryonics.

Comment by Capla on Open thread, Feb. 16 - Feb. 22, 2015 · 2015-02-20T18:38:48.346Z · LW · GW

I want to spend a few weeks seriously looking into cryonics: how it works, the costs, the theory about revival, the changes in the technology in the past 60 years, the options that are available.

I want to become an expert in cryonics to the extent that I can answer, in depth, the questions that people typically have when they hear about this "crazy idea" for the first time. {Hmm...That sounds a little like bottom-line reasoning, trying to prepare for objections, instead of ferreting out the truth. I'll have to be careful of that. To be fair, I will need to overcome objections to get my family to sign up. Still, be careful of looking for data just to affirm my naive presumption.}

What should I read?

Comment by Capla on Open Thread, Feb. 2 - Feb 8, 2015 · 2015-02-04T03:27:28.418Z · LW · GW

Since, neither is listed on the best textbooks thread, can anyone recommend good textbooks for

1) Social psychology

2) Cognitive psychology

?

Comment by Capla on I played as AI in AI Box, and it was generally frustrating all around. · 2015-02-02T01:29:38.482Z · LW · GW

Ok. I'm not saying you're wrong, but what on what basis. You call bullocks, and I check...what? We can't really make concrete statement bout how these scenarios will work.

Comment by Capla on False Laughter · 2015-01-29T07:31:23.581Z · LW · GW

Sure, but also, P(those-jokes-weren't-funny) .

Comment by Capla on Open thread, Jan. 26 - Feb. 1, 2015 · 2015-01-29T04:13:23.171Z · LW · GW

Is the author unaffiliated with LessWrong?

Comment by Capla on Open thread, Jan. 26 - Feb. 1, 2015 · 2015-01-29T00:35:37.447Z · LW · GW

Other than Superintelligence and Global Catastrophic Risks what should I read to find out more about existential risk?